Labour’s Rushanara Ali has written to the Foreign Secretary defending Aung San Suu Kyi amid the violence in Burma. Suu Kyi is a darling of the British left, she was given the red carpet treatment by Labour when she opened the party’s then London HQ five years ago. The longtime Burmese opposition leader, who is now the de facto ruler of the country, is the subject of growing international condemnation over the army’s brutal treatment of minority Rohingya Muslims. A petition signed by 350,000 people called for her Nobel Peace Prize to be withdrawn. Boris Johnson says the Rohingya crisis was “besmirching” the country’s reputation…

Before her fall from grace, Suu Kyi addressed dozens of Labour staff when she officially opened the party’s Brewer’s Green building in 2012. The love-in was gushing – Suu Kyi even mused on bringing Labour’s office “back to Burma”:

“In the end it is people who are most important, not buildings, although this is a beautiful building and I would not mind taking it back to Burma with me… the fact that you are here and have welcomed us so warmly and with genuine enthusiasm for the cause in which we have been engaged for so many decades, this is very special to me,”

Then leader Ed Miliband lavished praise on Suu Kyi, declaring her Labour’s “leader in this struggle”:

“I can think of no better person than the most famous leader of the opposition in the world, if I may say so – and the most distinguished, and the most courageous and the most brave – to open our offices. We have admired from afar, and we have supported your struggles over the past many years. We have seen the courage you have shown, we have seen the fortitude that you have displayed and we are absolutely with you in the fight for … the transition to a full democracy. We are with you every step of the way. You will be our leader in this struggle.”

Suu Kyi also addressed a meeting of the Shadow Cabinet. Given Jez’s open-door policy for dodgy visitors she’ll probably be invited back…